I Remember
by the-joker1
Summary: During Harry Potter's 3rd year at Hogwarts, the fear of Sirius Black was prominent everywhere. But for George Weasley, a fifth year, the fear of losing the one he loved was even greater...but who remembers? GW&OC! (Rating will go up later!)
1. Chapter 1

_Published: Sept. 24, 2003 _

1st Update: Dec. 30, 2003 

**Chapter 1 - The Letter**

"That's wonderful news, darling." Mrs. Weasley cooed and smoothed over her son's hair. 

"Yeah, congratulations, bro," George smiled at his twin. At twenty-six, both twins still looked exactly alike; stockily built, fit, strong and extremely handsome. Only those who were very close to them could tell them apart, and even they sometimes mixed them up. 

Fred was beaming, holding his fiancee's hand. Angelina Johnson, a girl whom Fred had been dating on and off for a couple years was finally to become part of the Weasley family. Fred and Angelina's relationship had become very serious a couple years earlier, so the engagement did not come with any surprise, but was still accepted with happiness and excitement. 

"When's the wedding?" 

Angelina looked at Fred's merry eyes and back at Mrs. Weasley, a woman she was so fond of that she could not think of anything better than being her daughter-in-law. 

"We're hoping for sometime this early fall, since that's when George comes back from the convention." 

"Yeah, can't hold a wedding without my best man," Fred turned to George and sent him a thoughtful look that only brothers as close as they were could understand. 

George laughed. "Glad to see you didn't pick Ron after all!" 

"Little Ronnikins? Now George, I thought you had better taste than suggesting our ickle bwuvver...I mean, even Malfoy would do a better job! Well, he wouldn't trip at least..." Fred winked at Ron right before he was pelted with sofa cushions. Apparently, Ron hadn't thought their practical joke earlier that day very funny. Ron, just home from a trip to France with his girlfriend Hermione Granger had walked into The Burrow with unexpected welcomes from Fred and George. He was slightly too tired to realize that something must be up and tripped over Fred and George's latest joke shop addition, Invisi-string. This string apparently had a mind of its own and pitched Ron straight into the kitchen, face-first into Mrs. Weasley's freshly-baked lemon meringue pie. 

"That -" Ron began furiously but was unable to continue because everyone in the whole room was suddenly laughing, well everyone except Ron and Mrs. Weasley. 

George finally got his laughter under control. 

"Well, I'd better go pack a couple of things...see you all in a bit." 

"I'll come with you." Fred kissed Angelina on the cheek, got up and followed George out of the room. 

*********************************************************************************************** 

"What time do you leave tomorrow morning?" Fred lay on his bed watching his twin lazily. 

"I think at 9 AM, too bad you couldn't come." George was also lying on his bed, flicking his wand with tired motions. Clothes were flying everywhere, chasing a rather aged Pig around the room, and then finally settling in George's suitcase, folded and neat. 

"Oh geepers, International Jokers Convention...you'll do Weasley's Wizard Wheezes proud, won't you?" 

"Of course...I'm taking the Invisi-string and the Blood Jackets for sure. They will be impressed with those." 

Fred nodded in agreement. "Too bad one of us has to stay and watch the shop." 

"You are welcome to take my place, you know..." George started hesitantly, for he really did want to go. 

"Oh, no, no. After all, Angie would kill me if I told her now." 

George beamed for his twin. "You know, I really am happy for you too, truly..." 

"Hey mate, we're not getting any younger. I know you were expecting the announcement soon." 

"Well...it's still wonderful." 

"Maybe you should get settled down..." Immediately after he said this, Fred bit his tongue and silently chastised himself for bringing up the topic of George's personal life. He turned to watch his brother, seeing what kind of reaction George would make. 

George suddenly walked to the window and gazed out. Although neither of the twins lived at the Burrow any longer, they came over so often that Mrs. Weasly hadn't bothered to turn their room into a storage area, something she was threatening Bill with if he didn't come home more often. The weather outside was beautiful. It was a late summer day and the sky was starting to show signs of the evening. Gorgeous pink and orange rays were highlighting the golden hoops of the newly built Home-Quidditch-Field set. The grass in the backyard was getting a little too long but the wind lazily carassed it and it gently waltzed around. However, beautiful as it was, there was a melancholy wave in the air and George sighed. He was silent and closed his eyes, as if he were concentrating hard to remember something. Getting frustrated without drawing up some wanted memory, he turned away from the picturesque view and shook his head. Fred let out a sigh of relief. 

"I haven't...I haven't met the right person yet. I don't know what it is, I just can't seem to find the perfect girl...and sometimes, sometimes I think that maybe I had already found her and then lost her..." George shook his head again. 

Fred froze. _Oh god, don't let him remember!_ he cried silently to himself. _Please, don't let him remember..._

George walked back over to his bed and began absent-mindedly stroking a beautiful gold and silver ring on his right thumb. 

"Just listen to me..." he mumbled. He looked down at the intricate star design on the ring and sighed. Then he put on an overly cheerful smile and changed the subject. 

"So, do you know where Mum put the ticket for the convention?" 

Fred relaxed. "Oh, somewhere on the drawer." He waved his hand in the general area. 

George frowned. "Some help you are. _Accio ticket!_" 

Nothing happened. 

"That's odd. Oh bugger, I'll just look for it myself. It's probably wedged in between some thick stack of paperwork." 

Fred just closed his eyes, not making a sound. In the background he could hear George rummaging through the drawers, cursing slightly at the mess. 

"Oh, there it is!" 

"Told you so." 

George pulled out a small card that flashed with many bright colours. He smiled and stuck it in his pocket when something suddenly caught his eye. In between newly printed order forms and chocolate frog wrappers was a very old envelope. 

"This is odd. What is it?" 

Fred opened one eye sleepily. 

"Dunno mate. Why don't you open it?" 

With slightly trembling hands, George gently pulled out the old envelope. He walked back over to his bed and dropped onto it. The parchment smelled so familiar, of vanilla and berry with a touch of flowery fragrance. So faint, but so familiar. 

"Well, what is it?" 

George slowly pulled out the letter. 

"It's a letter to you...is it Angie's first loove letter?" George teased, but suddenly something seemed wrong. "Wait, it can't be. This isn't Angie's writing...but it, it's so familiar... I KNOW this writing!" 

Fred was suddenly wide awake. He jumped out of bed and stared at the letter. Immediately, it dawned to him who the letter was from and he knew that George was to never read it. 

"Oh, that, George, don't read it." 

"Why ever not?" 

Fred didn't answer, but instead leapt towards the letter, intending to grab it from George. George however, saw it coming and quickly dodged his twin. Fred recovered and made a frantic grab for the letter. 

"Oi! Fred, sod off!" 

"Give me the letter!" 

"No!" 

"It's addressed to me, you shouldn't read other people's mail!" 

"Well that's rich coming from you, didn't you just intercept Ginny's letter from Harr-" "That's different!" 

"Well, I haven't read much, just let me finish this." 

George gained the upper hand in a small wrestling match and Fred lay pinned on the ground by one of George's legs. Fred could do nothing now but watch in horror as the look of astonishment slowly crossed George's face. 

"George?" Fred gasped. "Is that from...?" 

George did not reply and dropped the letter on the ground. 

Fred turned his head over to look for himself. From the beautiful and neat cursive writing, he could tell that he was right in guessing who it was from. 

*********************************************************************************************** 

Dear Fred, 

I fear that the time is coming. I cannot escape this time, for I have been lucky one too many times. If you do not understand what I mean now, you soon will. I am only asking you a small favour. 

I know you are the closest to George, and that you know him inside-out. This much is obvious...I also know that you do not keep anything from him. But I need you, this time, to keep this one thing from him. 

When I'm gone, please, Fred, for George's happiness and sanity, please never mention my name again. Promise me this, if he tries to talk to you about me, even the slightest bit, do something, change the subject...whatever it does to take his mind off of me. I will never be able to forgive myself for dragging George into this...I need you to protect him. To keep him happy, to let him live again. I love him too much to be able to see him suffer. 

I have charmed this letter...if you promise never to mention me again, if you promise now, then within a few months, the memory of me will slowly fade. I will be cleared from his mind and he will be able to be happy again. However, even after he has forgotten me, you must never let him see this letter, or hear my name...the charm might begin to wear. I do not want you to see him mourn, so for everyone's happiness, please promise now. I thank you from the deepest depths of my heart. 

Raine 

*********************************************************************************************** 

Fred let out a barely audible breath and turned back slowly to face his twin. George's restraining foot on his chest was now limp. He got up from his position on the floor and stared at George, waiting for a reaction. 

Minutes of silence passed and the shocked look upon George's face did not change. Finally, Fred could wait no longer and broke the silence. 

"Do..do you remember...?" 


	2. Chapter 2

_Published: Sept. 24, 2003 _

1st Update: Dec. 30, 2003 

**Chapter 2 - Welcome to Year 5**

"Did you rig it?" 

"You bet." 

Fred Weasley looked down at his watch and then up again at his mirror image. "Good, should go off in 15 seconds, we'd better get out of here." 

George nodded and cracked an evil grin that matched Fred's perfectly. 

Going slowly and quietly to avoid being discovered, Fred and George crawled past the rigged compartment as the Howarts Express chugged along. This particular compartment housed three sleeping Gryffindor girls and now, a considerable amount of Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks. 

"12 seconds... better get a good seat to enjoy the show." 

The twins crawled over to an empty window seat far away enough to appear like innocent bystanders. 

"8 seconds, mate." 

George leaned against the window and eyed the compartment eagerly. 

"You do realize Angie's not going to speak to you for a least a week, right?" 

"It's worth it." 

"And they'll probably give us hell at Quidditch practice." 

"That's why I'm thankful good ole Wood is still with us." 

Fred checked his watch again. 

"2 seconds...1...showtime." 

An almost deafening explosion sounded and was followed by a multitude of coloured sparks shooting from the compartment door. 

This however, was no match for the shocked screams and squeals that errupted. Fred and George stared eagerly at the compartment door when it suddenly burst open. Three attractive and furious looking girls poured out into the corridor. Angelina Johnson, her hair frizzled and her school robes messy looked up and down the train corridor and spotted the flaming Weasley hair. She growled and was about to run and attack the twins, but was restrained by equally frazzled Katie Bell and Alicia Spinnet. Struggling against her two friends, she shot daggers at the Weasley twins, who were rolling around on the ground laughing. 

"FRED! GEORGE! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!!" 

George wiped a tear from his eye and tried to steady his breathing in between his laughter. 

"Oh Angie, if looks could kill!" he crowed. 

At that moment, Katie and Alicia's grips broke and suddenly a very menacing Angelina was stalking down the corridor toward the twins. Sensing the murderous atmosphere, Fred and George (still laughing) immediately got up and began running down the corridor, away from Angie. They could hear her pounding after them and knew that this was now a time to hide. They knew very well how fit Angelina was from all her Quidditch practice and also knew that when she meant harm, she was very dangerous. Still laughing and dodging people, the twins increased their pace to put more distance between them and the frightening girl. Screams and protests came from people who were knocked down by their pace, but this only made Fred and George laugh harder. They ran nearly halfway down the length of the train when they found the compartment where Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny were. They quickly entered, slammed the door behind them and crouched down to hide and catch their breath. The younger students shot amused looks at each other and then knowing-glances when they saw a blurred silluette of Angelina run past the compartment. 

Fred and George looked at each other from their cramped positions and starting laughing again. "Welcome to Year 5, mate. It's going to be interesting." 

*********************************************************************************************** 

"Hi Angelina, Katie, Alicia." 

The three girls ignored Fred as he and George sauntered towards the Gryffindor table for the start of the year dinner feast. 

"What's wrong with them, Gred?" 

"I don't know Forge. They do seem a little miffed at us though. Us! Of all people!" 

Katie and Alicia snorted but Angelina continued staring at the Head Table, waiting for Albus Dumbledore to give his yearly start-of-the-year speech. 

George sighed and gave Fred a "told-you-so" look, which his twin ignored. 

"We'll win her back, mate. No problem. She won't be able to keep her hands off of me when I turn on my charms." Fred winked at George. 

This time Angelina snorted. 

"That's right, Forge. I'll be beating the crap outta you. Just wait till Quidditch starts." 

George sent another "told-you-so" look in Fred's direction. 

"Oh guys, just hush. The sorting has started!" Katie exclaimed excitedly. 

"Oh bugger, more 'ickle firsties' to gaze at Harry's scar," Fred muttered. Apparently, he had caught all of George's annoying looks. Katie ignored him. 

"Man, how much longer is this going to last? I'm starving!" George moaned a couple of minutes later. They were only at the letter 'S'. 

"Soon, have some patience, Gred." Angelina snapped. 

George fathomed his death by starvation. 

This time, everyone ignored George. He sighed. 

Finally the sorting was over and George shot triumphant glances at Angie, as if to say I-made-it-through-HA! 

Dumbledore, however, did not seem to be about to start the feast yet. 

"Before we begin our fabulous feast - yes, Mr. Weasley, I am aware you are rather famished, thank you - I have two more announcements to make." 

"This year, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is happy to welcome photographers from Witch Weekly to photograph new, more..err..fashionable robes from Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The photographers, as you may have noticed," at this, he gestured towards three chubby and short men and one tall blond woman, all sitting at the high table. "Have already arrived, and will be begin their picture-taking tomorrow and this will go on for two days. Students will be randomly chosen in the hallways, and will be excused from their classes that day. And, of course, their photos will be featured in the next issue of Witch Weekly. Let us welcome to these lovely people." 

Cheers errupted from all tables, mostly from excited girls. George groaned and rubbed his shruken belly as more girly screams and cheers errupted. 

"Mr. Weasley, only a few moments more of your attention, please." Dumbledore's twinkling blue eyes rested upon George. 

"I am also excited to announce another guest to Hogwarts. This year, we will be the host school for an exchange student - " he raised his hand against the excited whispers that passed around...many girls had begun to fantasize of a dreamy French boy. 

"Please, your attention, please." 

"This young lady - " At this, there were many disapointed groans, but a few cheers from some eager boys. 

"This young lady has attended numerous Magic Schools around North America and now comes to us. I expect you to show her our wonderful Hogwarts hospitality. Please give a Hogwarts welcome to Tania Jenkins!" 

The cheers exploded and everyone stood up to see the new girl. But because of this, only a few Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff students were able to get a glance of her because she had walked in between their tables...and they were lucky to be able to see her. She was simply gorgeous. 

Tania walked slowly towards a spot on the Ravenclaw table, the house which she had been appointed to for the year. She glanced around the enormous Great Hall nervously. Everyone was craning their necks to see her. She could feel their eyes on her, judging her. Eyes everywhere, running down her 5 ft. 3 length, brushing through her long silky black hair, taking in her dark brown eyes that were fringed with inky lashes. Her small nose and her lovely pale complexion, red and full lips and rose coloured cheeks. Then down her body to her breasts, small but shapely, to her flat stomach and curvy hips and down to her sturdy legs. She smiled shyly at the people around her and as she sat down at the Ravenclaw table, all the boys from that house cheered loudly while some girls gave her excited welcomes. 

"Can you see her?" Katie Bell was standing on her tiptoes, trying to get a good look at Tania. 

"No, but judging by the boys' reactions, she must be awfully good-looking," Alicia replied grumpily. 

"Not to worry, Alicia," George said lazily. He hadn't bothered to look, but instead was concentrating hard on his golden plate, as if he would be able to magically fill it by looking at it. "We will still love you the best." 

Lee Jordan, the twins' friend turned to George and shook his head in disbelief. 

"You haven't even seen her! She's hot, mate!" 

"Who cares? I'm hungry." 

"She's like another Cho," Lee began, but was interrupted by Fred. 

"No, definitely not. She's way prettier…there's going to be line-ups for her." 

Angelina suddenly looked very miffed. 

"Pretty is she? Well I –" 

"I mean, sure she's pretty, but oh, Angie, you're beautiful." Fred quickly stammered. 

"Nice save." Lee muttered under his breath as Angelina brightened up a bit. 

"Thanks." 

George looked wildly around the hall and moaned more when he saw that people were still not finished trying to get a good look at Tania. 

"Bloody hell! If people don't stop oogling at her now, I'll have to get my revenge!" 

For some odd reason, Angelina agreed with George. 

"Yeah, revenge sounds nice. Gred, whaddya say to a true Hogwarts welcome for our new celebrity?" She said nastily. 

George smiled. Angelina was such a fun girl to be around…and well, when she wasn't chasing people down train corridors, George really liked being around her. Of course, he thought hastily to himself, he didn't fancy her. That was Fred's area of specialty and he dared not try anything, fearing a row with his closest friend and ally. Instead, he looked up at Katie and Alicia and smiled brightly at them. They giggled and blushed. 

Down the table Oliver Wood sat with a thick book of Quidditch Tips and Tricks. His friends all around him were oohing and ahhing at Tania. 

"Yo Wood, have you taken a good look at her?" 

"Nah, I'm trying to see if the team will be able to try a Porskoff Ploy in practice next week." 

"You're never going to get a woman." 

Oliver shrugged. 

"I'm serious, look at her! She's gorgeous! Sort of like Cho Chang, but much prettier!" 

Oliver suddenly looked up from his book. 

"Cho Chang? The Ravenclaw Seeker?" 

His friend nodded and Oliver gave him a nasty look. 

"Oh bloody brilliant. Just what I need, another Cho Chang. This Tania girl better not play Quidditch. That cup will be mine!" and with that, Oliver banged his fist on the table. His friend just shook his head. 

"Hello Tania. I'm Roger Davies, captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team." 

Tania looked up and saw a rather tall boy looking down at her. "Hello," she said. 

"I think you will find Hogwarts a rather confusing castle, since it must be so much larger than your previous schools. I will be happy to give you a tour if you like." 

"I attended The Salem Witches' Institute in the United States last year. The campus is around twice the size of Hogwarts, but I thank you for your offer." 

A group of people who had crowded around Tania laughed a little, but Roger would not give up. "Well, all the same, Hogwarts has many secret passages and can get a little confusing. I will be happy to show you around, and say, what about spending the next Hosmeade weekend with me? I can take you around all the -" 

"Sod off Davies." A couple of boys pushed the tall Quidditch captain away. Roger struggled against the crowd for a moment, but realized defeat. Before he could be jerked out of sight, he called to Tania. 

"Just ask for me at any time! See you later Tania!" 

Tania gave him a little wave. 

"What year are you in?" A very young looking boy asked. Tania guessed he must have been entering second or third year. 

"I'll be entering fifth year," she said. The boy looked very disappointed. Tania gave him a small and apologetic smile and turned around to face the Head Table, only to be bombarded by more questions. 

"Tania! Tania, will you -" 

"I'm Eric from Gryffin -" 

"Why did they put you in Raven-" 

A sudden loud crack silenced everyone. Dumbledore held out his wand which was bursting at the tip with a couple of small firecrackers to get attention. 

"Thank you, I'm sure Tania feels very welcome now. Please, give the girl a chance to breathe..ah yes, and - thank you Mr. Weasley - I understand it is time to eat. Let the feast begin!" 

Tania breathed a sigh of relief as the tables were all piled with food and nearly everyone's attention turned back to the food. She was impressed with the Great Hall and now finally had a chance to look around properly without a hundred pair of eyes on her. She scanned across the far table behind her - the Gryffindor table (she recognized the Eric boy sitting there) and then turned her attention forward to the Hufflepuff table and then finally, the Slytherin table. As she was taking in this last house, a flash of brilliant blond hair caught her attention. A pale boy was sitting between two large boys who looked like his bodyguards. Something about his smirk was familiar and Tania wondered why. Suddenly, the boy looked up at her with cold grey eyes. Tania's eyes widened with recognition. 

"Draco...?" 


	3. Chapter 3

_Published: Sept. 24, 2003 _

1st Update: Dec. 30, 2003 

**Chapter 3 - The Photoshoot**

"Tania! Tania! Wait for me!" Tania turned to see a puffing Roger Davies running to catch up to her after breakfast. He dodged many students making their way to class and finally got to his destination. 

"Tania! Hello! Thank you for waiting for me. Did you sleep well last night?" 

"Good morning, and yes, I did, thank you." 

"Oh..well, I didn't see you in the common room last night." 

"I turned in early..." 

"I heard the dormatories for fifth year girls is full...where do you sleep?" 

Tania turned to Roger, exasperated. 

"Roger, is this conversation going anywhere?" 

Roger looked slightly embarassed. He gazed at the pictures on the wall and ignored the people around him who were snickering at his obvious attempts. 

"Well, the thing is, I never got a straight answer from you. I believe the first Hogsmeade weekend is sometime in October and if you'd like to go with -" 

Before he could finish, a tall lady came up to them. Tania recognized her as one of the photographers from _Witch Weekly_. 

"Good morning students!" The lady was pulsing with enthusiasm. "May I introduce myself? My name is Claire Olcott and I am the supervising photographer for Witch Weekly." 

Roger looked very miffed about being interrupted for the second time but Ms. Olcott took no notice. 

"Now, my dear," she said to Tania. "May I interest you in a chance to appear in Witch Weekly?" 

Tania smiled but shook her head. 

"No, that's alright. It's my first day of classes and I would like to -" 

"Nonsense! You'll go with me, won't you Tania? This is so exciting, a photoshoot together!" Roger beamed at Tania. 

Ms. Olcott eyed Roger with a slight distaste. 

"Er, yes dear. Listen to your boyfriend here. Come!" 

"Roger's not my boyfriend, and no, I don't think I will. I really need to find my way -" 

"Nonsense! You have the perfect looks! Come along dear!" Ms. Olcott placed two hands on Tania's back and steered her down the hall towards a small room, leaving Roger standing there. It took him a moment to realize he was being left behind and quickly ran after them. 

"Oh Ms. Olcott, Tania, wait for me!" 

As Tania was being forced down the hall she tried to protest but Ms. Olcott was a very experienced business woman. 

"Really, Ms. Olcott I -" 

"Honey, this will be an exciting photoshoot, a chance you would be crazy to pass up!" 

Tania sighed. You'd be surprised...she thought to herself. 

"What's our first class today?" Angelina asked Fred as they made their way through a throng of students. 

"I thought you weren't talking to me? 

"Well, it's your lucky day." 

"Oh." Fred smiled to himself. "We have double transfiguration." 

"Yuck." 

"No, double yuck." 

"Whatever...where's George? We still need to plan our welcome for Tania." 

"Why do you hate her? You don't even know her." 

"I don't hate her." 

"You sure act like you do." 

"Why would I hate her? I don't even know her." 

Fred sighed. 

"Anyway, answer my question. Where's George?" 

"He slept in today, seeing as there were no pranks to play. You know our schedule." 

"Oh. Why are you up then, instead of rushing into class five minutes late?" 

Fred gave Angelina a sly glance. 

"Because I wanted to have breakfast with you, m'lady." 

Angelina rolled her eyes but could not help but smile a bit. 

*********************************************************************************************** 

George hurriedly shoved down a quick breakfast and cursed Fred. Trust his twin brother to turn off his alarm clock on the very first day of classes, just so he'd be late. He looked at his schedule and saw Double Transfiguration. _Bloody hell! McGonagall'll be pissed if I'm late for her class! Dammit Fred!_

He downed a last glass of pumpkin juice and rushed out of the Great Hall. He glanced at his watch and saw only two minutes till class started. Cursing Fred some more and vowing to get him back, George ran as fast as he could, turning sharp corners. He was just about to turn the last corner to the hallway where McGonagall's classroom was when he ran straight into someone, knocking them over. 

"Ooof! I'm sorry, bloody sorry." George got up quickly and peered at the unfortunate soul who had been in his way. He saw a tubby middle-aged man and realized it was one of the photographers for Witch Weekly. 

The man slowly got up and smiled a jolly smile at George. 

"S'all right, m'boy. No harm done. In fact, you're perfect! We need one more person for our photoshoot, how would yeh like to be in it?" Without waiting for an answer, he shoved George into a classroom on his right. 

George breathed a sigh of relief. Although a photoshoot was not exactly his cup of tea, it would allow him to be excused from class for the rest of the day, something he was rather glad of because the remainder of his day consisted of Double Potions and one class of Divination. He looked around the classroom and saw around fifteen other students. He recognized Roger Davies, Ravenclaw's Quidditch Captain, and gave him a small nod in hello. But other than that, he did not recognize many of the people. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he casually scanned the room in a bored sort of way when suddenly, his eyes fell upon a girl whom Davies was attempting to impress. She looked bored and turned away from Roger. He found her eyes wandering around the room, perhaps looking for a way out of the conversation with Davies. Suddenly her dark eyes flickered up and met his gaze. A sudden shot of electricity ran through George and he found himself unable to turn away from this girl. He was now acutely aware of how attractive this girl was, how lovely her clear skin was, and how it contrasted perfectly with her dark and sleek hair. How the pale pink of her cheek gave her the look of roses and cream and how her eyebrows were arched in the most delicate way. Then down her body, her breasts, small but perfect, her legs not too long, but strong. She didn't seem like the typical giggly girls George had known for his five years at Hogwarts. She was something else, something exotic. Something rich, and he found himself wanting her. The girl stared at him for a little longer and finally broke the gaze. George drew in a sharp breath and felt the excitement slowly ebb away. 

"Your attention please! Attention, students!" Ms. Olcott called out. The chatter in the room stopped immediately and all eyes were fixed upon her. "Thank you! Now it is time for the excitement! Madam Malkin, the clothes stylist for today's photoshoot, has come out with her latest robes and fashions! Now, girls please line up on this side of the room, and boys on this side to recieve your measurements and make-up and get your hair done!" 

George made his way over to the line where Ms. Olcott had pointed out for the boys. He found Roger Davies standing close by him and leaned in for a chat. 

"Hey, Roger." 

"George, hello. Looking forward to some good Quidditch?" 

"Er, yes. Um," George looked quickly around the room and then back at Roger. "Er, Roger, who were you talking to back there?" 

Roger's face lit up and he smiled the biggest and goofiest smile George had ever seen. 

"Oh, her! Isn't she wonderful? Very pretty, and smart and -" 

"Yes, uh Roger, what's her name?" 

"Oh! That's -" 

But before he could finish, Madam Malkin stalked over and started measuring the boys. She gave them new looking robes and very smart looking uniforms and sent them into portable change rooms. When they came out, she led George to a chair and pointed Roger to another and began fussing over their hair and applying a slight amount of camera make-up. Finally she was satisfied and presented them (along with some other made-up boys) to Ms. Olcott and her three photographers. 

George turned back to continue his conversation with Roger but before he could start, Ms. Olcott began giving directions to the students. She grabbed George by the arm. 

"You, boy, what's your name?" 

"George Weasley." 

"Alright George, you'll be partnered with this young lady here for the shoot." 

George turned to see who his partner would be and drew in another sharp breath. It was the girl Davies had been talking to. He noticed that she looked ever-more attractive in the new robes and that there was no make-up on her face. _She's beautiful enough as she is_, George thought to himself. Tania stood surveying the new clothes on her. They were certainly nice, and very comfortable. She was about to turn and ask one of Madam Malkin's helpers how much they would cost when the red-headed boy she had caught staring at her walked up. 

"Hello, I'm George Weasley, your, uh, partner for the photoshoot?" 

Tania surveyed his face, handsome yet mischevious. Freckles were sprinkled on his nose and his red hair (tidy and neat from his 'make-over') looked soft. His eyes were a deep brown with flecks of gold scattered here and there. She smiled. 

_Oh Lord, the most beautiful girl is standing in front of me right now,_ George thought to himself. He opened his mouth to ask her name but was interrupted yet again. 

Ms. Olcott stood on a school chair to make herself taller than she already was. "Attention again, please! We will now begin taking shoots! Please led your partner by the hand over to this area." At this, she waved vaguely to an area behind her where the photographers were standing ready. "And please, no talking! I'd like to be able to hear myself think!" 

George sighed and shut the question up in his mouth. He looked at this girl and offered his hand. The girl turned her attention to him and slipped her hand into his. George felt another shot of excitement leap from her hand to his and turned to see if she had felt the same excitement. But if she had, she certainly did not react. 

Tania slipped her small white hand into George's opened palm. She marveled at how perfectly they fit together, like a puzzle piece. George's hand was warm and soft, but not sweaty. Much more pleasant than Roger's, she thought to herself and rolled her eyes when she remembered how he had grabbed her hand and practically followed her around the room earlier that day. 

"Over here! You, red-head, bring your partner up here." 

"No, Barn, I think they will look better over here, let him straddle the chair and give her some books, for props, you know." 

"No, no you dingle snuffle! Have her sit at the desk concentrating and have him walk around her with the books." 

"How about if they both stand with books, looking at each other beside the professor's desk?" 

"No, how - " 

Tania sighed. It was going to be a long day. 

*********************************************************************************************** 

"George! Where were you all day?" Fred dumped his books on top of the Gryffindor table and immediately began helping himself to some mashed potatoes and gravy. George sat picking at his dinner, deep in thought. He was remembering how wonderful the day had been. The photographers from _Witch Weekly_ had kept him and the girl busy all day and had not allowed them to talk at all. Although he still hadn't got a chance to ask her for her name, George had been able to touch her, place his arms around her and stare deeply into her eyes. Apparently the photographers were also hopeless romantics and had thought George and the girl had a lot of chemistry. Shame he hadn't even been able to ask her name though. 

George looked up now at his twin and suddenly remembered the unwelcome practical joke that morning. 

"Trying to think of what I should do with your heart-speckled underwear, you prat! Shall I string it up on the flag pole for all to see?" 

Fred laughed. "Hey mate, if you expose me, you're just exposing yourself too. What? What's the matter? Didn't you say you wanted to sleep in?" 

George just glared. 

"So, are you going to answer my question? Where were you? Oh! Did you get chosen for that photoshoot?" 

George nodded and sighed happily. Fred gave him a strange look but he ignored it. 

Suddenly Angelina bounced out of nowhere. 

"GEORGE! I have the PERFECT idea to welcome Tania! Hahaha! You're going to love it! Come on, hurry up and eat! I'll explain it later in the common room, see you there." With that, Angelina bounced back out of the Great Hall. 


	4. Chapter 4

_Published: Sept. 24, 2003 _

1st Update: Dec. 30, 2003 

**Chapter 4 - Pranks**

"You got the ice water?" 

George nodded. He felt happy, he hadn't played a joke for two days or so, and the deprivation had left him feeling empty. 

"Good. I've got the dye. It's green and will shine silver, haha, we'll see how much Tania loves the Slytherins after today." 

George smiled evilly. "Way to go Angie! This is a wonderful plan, ingenious! I might have to recruit you to help Freddie and I out sometime." 

Angelina smiled at the mention of Fred. 

"I'd like that, thanks." 

The pair were hiding behind a suit of armour that was beside the front doors to the Great Hall. 

"So, what time do you think Tania will show up for breakfast?" 

"The later the better, that way she won't have much time to change her clothes...and wash out her hair. This stuff has to stay in for ten minutes before it sets for the day." 

"Okay. Well, I guess we'd better add the dye to the water now. Some early birds are coming to eat." 

George unscrewed a small jar of yellow-green fluid and poured its contents into the bucket of ice water. Then using a hovering charm, he positioned the bucket near the top of the doors to the Great Hall. 

"Great work. Now we only have to wait!" Angelina smirked. 

*********************************************************************************************** 

Tania made her way to the Great Hall for breakfast. It was a little later than she liked, but she had taken a long detour in order to avoid Roger. Unforunately, she had lost her way, having only had half a day to try to find her way around the castle. Now she recognized the large foyer that lead into the Great Hall. She hurried over towards the doors when she suddenly saw a brilliant flash of blond hair. It was Draco. 

"Draco! Draco Malfoy!" she called out to the boy. He turned and saw her and his eyes widened with recognition. He whispered orders to the two thugs that followed him and they made their way into the Hall, leaving him alone. He walked over to Tania. 

"Morningstar?" he peered at her. "Is that really you?" 

Tania nodded. "How long has it been Draco? How is your father? And your mother?" 

"He's been fine. Work is busy for him. My mother's also doing fine." 

"That's good to hear. It's been so long." 

"George! Hey George, wake up!" Angelina hissed. 

"Huh, what, the answer is 'levisosia', Professor!" George said as he woke up. Angelina poked him in the back hard and he gave a little yelp with pain. 

"Ouch! Angelina! How long have we been here?" 

"For an hour or so you lazy bum. It's time for action! There she is, and you wouldn't believe it. She's having a jolly conversation with Malfoy, as if she's known him all her life. I knew I chose the right colours for the dye!" 

George rubbed his eyes and turned to the entrance of the Great Hall. He gasped. It was the girl from the photoshoot. 

"Is THAT Tania?" he asked. 

"Yes you twit! It is, now hurry up, they're moving into the Hall." 

George stood frozen in his hiding place. That was Tania Jenkins! The, the, the perfect girl! He couldn't play this joke on her! He couldn't! 

"What are you waiting for? Go!" Angelina snapped impatiently. When she noticed Geroge was not moving or blinking, she decided it was time to take her own action. Grabbing George's arm which held his wand, she pointed it to the bucket and whispered a charm. A jet of blue light shot out and the bucket tipped over. 

"André is enjoying his new position, he's with the St - AUGHH!" Tania shrieked as ice cold water poured over her, drenching her clothes, hair and school bag. She quickly flung it aside so that the books inside would not be ruined. 

Draco had been caught in the downpour of water, but had not been drenched. He was, however, fussing more than Tania. 

Tania brushed her now soaking hair out of her eyes and realized with a slight horror that it was turning green. A few seconds later, she realized the water obviously contained some sort of substance and that substance was dyeing her hair and clothes green and silver. She was aware of people all around laughing. She looked around and saw a tall Gryffindor girl laughing the loudest of them all. But her attention did not stay with this girl because her gaze soon moved to the boy next to her. It was George and he still had his wand pointed to her. 

George stood in horror, unable to move. He had watched the bucket tip over as if in slow motion and had not been able to move or hide or even adjust his position as its contents spilled over Tania. Now Tania was looking at him and when he realized she recognized him, his heart fell lower than he could have possibly imagine. Tania stared at him a few moments more, a hurt look crossing her face. Then she picked up her bag and ran from foyer up an empty staircase. 

*********************************************************************************************** 

"Ha! That was great! George? What's the matter?" 

George walked beside Angelina towards their first class of the day, Charms with Ravenclaw. When George didn't answer, Angelina stomped on his toe and George almost tripped, narrowly avoiding a huge fall down the stairs. 

"Oi! Angelina! What the hell was that for?" 

"Attention, you prat." 

"Arg, Angelina, just leave me alone. Where's Fred? Go pester him." 

Angelina gave George a half worried, half annoyed look but took up on George's suggestion. George watched as Angelina went ahead and did exactly what he wanted her to do: leave him alone. He shuffled his feet, taking twice as long getting to Charms then he usually did. His mind flashed images of Tania; Tania and her hair, Tania and her smile, then Tania and her hurt look..what was the matter with him? He didn't even know the girl! She was probably just another dumb, good-looking, magical, wonderful girl. George groaned. He finally reached his Charms classroom to discover there was only one table left, right in the front of the class. He turned to see that Angelina, Alicia and Katie were sitting together while Fred, Lee and a Ravenclaw boy George knew as Jerry were at another table. He silently cursed Fred yet again for not saving a seat for him and made his way up to the front table. 

"Ah Mr. Weasley, glad to see you have chosen to sit away from your brother. Hopefully this year you will be able to get something done, right?" 

George looked up to a tiny Professor Flitwick squeaking at him. With a heavily distracted mind, he could do nothing but nod. Flitwick, thinking a change had come over George Weasley, beamed down at him from on top of his high perch on a number of books before he turned to address the rest of the class. 

"Alright class, welcome back!! Please settle down, thank you, thank you. I will begin with the attendence." 

George groaned. Normally, he and Fred would be goofing off by now, and Flitwick wouldn't notice because their names were usually last on the list. But with Fred sitting all the way at the back, and him right under the professor's nose, he could do nothing but look attentive. 

"Jerry Hemmingway..where are you boy? There we go. Tania Jenkins?" 

George jumped in his chair. Tania was in this class? Oh no! He turned around, searching the class wildly. His search, however, turned up empty-handed. 

"Oh, Tania. Yeah, I saw her, but I don't know why she isn't here." Angelina piped up in a fakingly innocent voice. A loud burst of laughter erupted and George could soon hear many people talking about what had happened at breakfast. A Ravenclaw sitting behind George slapped him on the back, telling him what a good job he had done. This only made George feel worse. 

"Settle down, settle down! I'm sure Ms. Jenkins will soon make an appearance. It is her first week here and as Professor Dumbledore mentioned, I would like you to give her a warm welcome. I have also heard she has exceptional skill in the Charms area, so you will all benefit from having her in this class. Now, where were we? Oh yes -" 

At that moment the doors flew open and there stood Tania. She flushed as everyone in the class turned to stare. 

"Oh, oh, I'm terribly sorry Professor. I didn't mean to be late..I was just..am I interrupting something?" 

"Oh nothing at all. We were just talking about how wonderful and talented you are." Angelina spat out sarcastically in Tania's direction. She looked slightly disappointed at how well Tania had concealed the prank, but then smirked in satisfaction when she noticed Tania's hair. 

Tania turned wordlessly to stare at Angelina and said nothing. George noticed that she appeared to be very flustered. She had changed her robes, but had only slightly managed to keep her hair the same. Everytime she moved, a flash of silver and green would ripple through her hair. George also noticed she had put her hair up in a bun to lessen the attention the flashes of colour would attract, and he thought this very smart of her. 

"Now, now, Ms. Johnson, you know that I think all my students are both wonderful and talented! Ms. Jenkins, I was just telling the class a little about you, I hope you do not mind. Well..there have been enough interruptions and I would like to get to the end of this roll call, so please come in. Here is a seat right by Mr. Weasley...oh and please note, this is Mr. GEORGE Weasley and that the other Mr. Weasley is Mr. FRED Weasley. Please don't let them pull too many pranks on you." 

_Too late,_ Tania thought. She walked up down the middle of the class towards the front row, painfully aware of the whispers and snickers directed at her. She dropped her bag by the table and took the seat farthest from George. She could feel his eyes on hers, and knew that they were begging her to look at him, but she ignored him. 

George thought that his day could not start out worse than this. He had wanted Tania to at least look at him, but an icy reception was all he got. He wanted to apologize, to rush his guilt out, but he was suddenly under the impression that Tania wasn't going to make it that easy for him. 


End file.
